{"id":1625,"date":"2026-09-08T08:54:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T08:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/denmark-is-a-cycling-nation-but-our-research-shows-rates-are-declining-heres-why\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T08:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T08:54:50","slug":"denmark-is-a-cycling-nation-but-our-research-shows-rates-are-declining-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/denmark-is-a-cycling-nation-but-our-research-shows-rates-are-declining-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Denmark is a cycling nation, but our research shows rates are declining \u2013 here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span> Lazy_Bear \/ Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Across Europe, cycling is being promoted as a key solution to cleaner, healthier travel. The European Commission recently published its first progress report on the European Declaration on Cycling<\/a>, highlighting billions of euros in investment, thousands of kilometres of new or upgraded cycle infrastructure, and growing political commitment to treating cycling as a regular mode of transport.<\/p>\n

But there is a growing disconnect between this ambition and people\u2019s everyday behaviour. Even as policy momentum increases, the number of people cycling to work or to school, college or university is not rising everywhere. And where I live in Denmark \u2013 considered a leading cycling nation \u2013 it\u2019s quietly declining.<\/p>\n

In our national survey from 2020<\/a>, 27.6% of the population reported cycling to work or education at least three days a week. But in our recent 2025 survey, that figure has fallen to 25.6%.<\/p>\n

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Health Gap \/ Sundhedskl\u00f8ften<\/a> is a collaborative series from The Conversation UK and Denmark\u2019s Videnskab.dk exploring what the two countries can learn from each other when it comes to health and wellbeing.<\/em><\/p>\n

From cycling and alcohol to inequality, healthcare and everyday habits, the series looks beyond hospitals and medical treatment to explore how culture, politics and society shape the way people live \u2013 and how healthy they are.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Our 2020 data was collected in October and November, this was a period when COVID restrictions were minimal in Denmark, but where working at home was being encouraged. This likely resulted in less commuting during the survey period \u2013 making the 2025 decline even more significant.<\/p>\n

This decline may seem modest, but at a population level it represents tens of thousands of fewer regular cycle commuters \u2013 in a country where conditions are relatively favourable. Think bike lanes across towns and cities, cycling infrastructure on trains and on buses, and political support for cycling as everyday transport rather than a niche recreation.<\/p>\n

For young people aged 15-19, the decline in cycling to their place of education (at least three days per week) is even more pronounced: from 39% in 2020, to 32.3% in 2025. If this decline continues, the future of Denmark as a cycling nation is looking bleak.<\/p>\n

This raises a crucial question: if regular cycling is falling in Denmark where the abundance of cycle lanes make biking easy, what does that mean for Europe\u2019s broader cycling ambitions?<\/p>\n

Looking to the distance<\/h2>\n

Our more recent research might help explain why investment in infrastructure alone may not be enough. Using 2020 data from around 46,000 people across Denmark, our study<\/a> focused on those who live between one and 15 kilometres from work or education \u2013 distances commonly considered realistic for everyday cycling. <\/p>\n

We divided participants into two distance groups (one to five km and six to 15 km) and compared those who cycled frequently (three or more days a week) with those who did not.<\/p>\n

The results show that many short trips are not made by bike. Nearly half of people living within one to five km of work or education cycled less than three days a week. Among those living 6\u201315 km away, almost three\u2011quarters cycled less than three days a week. <\/p>\n

Our research also found that frequent cyclists tend to be younger adults, women, students and people with a higher level of education, along with those living in cities. Access to a bicycle was one of the strongest predictors of regular cycling \u2013 a reminder that basic conditions still matter.<\/p>\n

Getting off the saddle<\/h2>\n

But what really distinguished frequent and infrequent cyclists were the perceived barriers. Time pressure was one of the most consistently mentioned reasons putting a person off cycling. People who felt cycling took too long, conflicted with work or family responsibilities, or made it harder to combine daily errands were also less likely to cycle, even short distances.<\/p>\n

Concerns about appearance and comfort played a significant role, too. Worrying about arriving sweaty, overheated or not presentable was associated with cycling less, particularly for those living close to work. Perceived road safety also mattered. Feeling unsafe in traffic or lacking adequate cycling conditions reduced cycling frequency, regardless of actual distance.<\/p>\n

\n \"Red<\/a>
\n Bikes might be everywhere in Denmark\u2019s capital, Copenhagen, but less so in other areas of the country.<\/span>
\n Edu Mangas\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps unsurprisingly, people who expressed a clear preference for driving were much less likely to cycle, even when cycling was entirely feasible. This highlights how habits, status and car\u2011centred norms still shape behaviour, even in Denmark. <\/p>\n

And this is perhaps where Danish politicians have dropped the ball in the past decade, as policy changes have made car ownership cheaper. Based on data from Statistics Denmark<\/a>, per capita car ownership has grown by 7.2% since 2015. It\u2019s also worth noting that the annual investment in motorways in Denmark is 4-6 billion DKK (US$580\u2013870m) a year whereas annual state investment in cycling infrastructure is 200-300 million DKK (US$29\u201344m) a year.<\/p>\n

We also found that people living in rural areas were significantly less likely to cycle to work or their place of education than those in cities, even when commuting the same distances. This suggests that cycling culture, social acceptance and infrastructure quality still vary widely within countries often seen as cycle friendly.<\/p>\n

Europe\u2019s cycling ambitions<\/h2>\n

The European Commission\u2019s cycling progress report rightly highlights unprecedented investment and policy attention.<\/p>\n

But our findings \u2013 combined with the recent decline in regular cycling revealed by the 2025 data \u2013 suggest that infrastructure alone will not be enough.<\/p>\n

If cycling levels are to grow, policies must also tackle everyday realities: time constraints, safety perceptions, workplace facilities, social norms and ingrained car dependence. <\/p>\n

To succeed, cycling must be perceived as the easiest, cheapest, quickest and healthiest form of transport for short distances.<\/p>\n

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This series was commissioned as part of a partnership between Videnskab.dk<\/a> and The Conversation, where articles are published in English and Danish<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Jasper Schipperijn receives funding from Horizon Europe, the Danish Road Directorate and KOMPAN. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lazy_Bear \/ Shutterstock.com Across Europe, cycling is being promoted as a key solution to cleaner, healthier travel. The European Commission recently published its first progress report on the European Declaration on Cycling, highlighting billions of euros in investment, thousands of kilometres of new or upgraded cycle infrastructure, and growing political commitment to treating cycling as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}